Santa Claus is coming to town!

It’s safe to say 2008 has been a rough year for all of us, including Santa.
In the last two quarters alone, I’ve had to lay off 30 percent of my elves and three reindeer.
Global warming has cost me much of my valuable real estate here in the North Pole.
And with popular stores like Mervyn’s, Circuit City and Woolworths going out of business, and traces of lead showing up in all the other toys on the shelves, our workload has tripled over the past few months.
But I’ve made my list, and checked it twice, and I’m more than ready for Christmas Eve.
So now that I have some downtime, I plan on spending the next week taking it easy on the Central Coast.

• • •

I first stumbled upon San Luis Obispo County a few years ago when Rudolph cracked a hoof during a run from L.A. to the Bay Area.
Mrs. Claus and I spent the day riding ATVs at the Dunes, went eggnog tasting in the North County and spent a cozy night near a fireplace at Madonna Inn. … And let me tell you, the Caveman Room is everything it’s cracked up to be.
We’ve fallen in love with the “SLO Life” and have made a point to visit the county every year since.

• • •

This year, I’m spending a little “me time” on the Central Coast, enjoying all of the outdoor activities this warm stretch of coast has to offer. I’ll skateboard, mountain bike, rock climb, surf, fish and even get a round of golf in, if I’m lucky.
But enough about what I plan on doing. I have to catch an early sleigh ride in the morning and get out to Morro Rock before the sunrise. I hear the surf is supposed to pick up.
See you in the water,
Santa

[...] Coast of California. Tribune photos by Joe Johnston (SanLuisObispo.com) As I mentioned in my initial post, 2008 has been a tough year for Santa. And whenever I’m having a tough day at the office, I like [...]